Quotes of the day

posted at 10:44 pm on October 31, 2011 by Allahpundit

“In separate interviews, two people who were affiliated with the restaurant group at the time and knew of the complaints said they knew of the second female employee, who had received a payment related to harassment accusations against Mr. Cain during his 1996-99 tenure as president. The two spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being pulled into the matter publicly.

“The two people who were affiliated with the group said the second woman similarly had complained about what she said had been Mr. Cain’s inappropriate conduct toward her. One of them said she had been taken aback by one interaction in particular while they were traveling, but this person declined to give details. He said he believed the allegation of harassment was not the only issue involved in the woman’s termination package.”

***

“The Washington Post independently obtained the names of the women and tried to contact both, but several e-mails and telephone messages were not returned. A man who answered the door at the Maryland home of one of the women said they had ‘nothing to say.’

“Several key questions remained unanswered Monday night, including the full nature of the alleged encounters, the results of any internal inquiries and the resolutions that the women reached with the National Restaurant Association. In a statement, a spokeswoman for the association said it would not comment on ‘personnel issues,’ citing a ‘long-standing policy.’…

“‘He’s forceful, he’s front and center, knocking it down,’ conservative strategist Greg Mueller said. ‘Frankly, unless someone comes forward, or there’s some kind of conflict in his forceful knock-down of the story, I don’t know that it’s going to have legs for much longer.’

***

“Meanwhile, one group of Republicans was conspicuously silent: POLITICO contacted every one of Cain’s major opponents for the GOP presidential nomination and none of them would comment directly on the controversy embroiling Cain’s campaign…

“Weighing in on Fox News, Karl Rove and Ed Rollins – former aides to Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, respectively – argued for full disclosure. ‘If these allegations are not true, say they aren’t true and put it behind you,’ Rove said ahead of Cain’s Monday statements. ‘If not, better get everything out sooner rather than later because in a situation like this, if there is something there, that something going to come out.’

“He needs to find out what the facts are, get out with the facts before he gets nicked apart, and I think at the end of the day, hopefully, it was nothing,’ said Rollins, echoing Rove. “If it is something, it’ll be out there.’”

***

“Granted, we’re talking about a first-day story. Politico may be holding the salient facts in reserve for its follow-ups so it can build its case against Cain a day at a time. If and when they publish them I may change my tune. But right now the subject is today’s story. Until Cain’s accusers speak forthrightly on the record, until Politico shares the underlying ‘documentation describing the allegations’ that it claims to possess, readers have the right to gripe about the charges against Cain being as clear as dappled light on fog.

“Before we drag Cain to The Hague’s highest HR court for trial, I’d like to know exactly what Cain said to the women. Did he sexually proposition them? Did he boast about his virility in a vulgar manner in their presence? Did he ask women who worked for him intrusive questions about their sex lives?…

“Sometimes the headline of a piece reveals its inadequacies, which seems to be the case with Politico‘s ‘Exclusive: Two women accused Herman Cain of inappropriate behavior.’ If the art of journalism is located in the specifics, the Politico piece deserves just one star.

***

“Obviously, this description leaves open a myriad of possibilities, from the boorish to the legally actionable. Certainly, it prompts readers to scratch their heads as they try to remember what in the late 1990s constituted a physical gesture that was not overtly sexual but discomfiting. (I checked. The Macarena came out in the mid-1990s.) Suggestions from a boss to ‘meet in my suite’ are equally ambiguous. Did Cain have a sheaf of strategy papers on the desk or a CD player with a Michael Bolton track cued up?

“Therein is the problem with this story. If the facts as published were part of a memo to Politico’s editors, they would amount to a first-rate tip on a story. If Cain turns out to be a serial harasser, it will surely tarnish his image as the 2012 campaign’s most likable fresh face…

“Sexual harassment is a potent charge. It has brought down CEOs, congressmen and senators, and very nearly pushed Bill Clinton out of the presidency. But in this case, it remains unclear whether this was merely a great tip or an actual bombshell. I respect Politico’s decision to keep the names of the women out of this, although they will surely emerge. Yet, the basic details of this ‘harassment’ are essential so readers can judge its significance.”

***

“A couple of weeks ago I predicted in a video that Cain would benefit greatly from a conservative media which has a profound incentive to make sure he does not go the way of Perry and Bachmann. There is no doubt that Fox News, Matt Drudge and talk radio would be profoundly hurt economically if Romney swept Iowa and New Hampshire. This would not only strip them of months of content, but force them to talk for at least almost a year about a guy who is neither exciting nor loved by their customer base…

“Facilitating Cain’s shot at the nomination would be an easy way for the conservative media to achieve almost all of their goals. He elongates and spices up the nominating process, he gives them the chance to stand up for a ‘true’ conservative and prove they aren’t racist, and his nomination would create a lucrative general election while insuring Obama’s reelection. It is a no lose proposition for them and many will act on these incentives either consciously or subconsciously. To be clear, there will be no ‘conspiracy’ here, just very cynical/savvy/selfish people all working in what they perceive to be in their self interest…

“What is particularly stunning about the way that this is all going down is how incredibly similar Cain’s situation is to what happened with Obama in 2008.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

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OK? I’m glad you are sensing things, John. Your sensing things, um, adds to the conversation, I think. Keep up the good work.

Bizarro No. 1 on November 1, 2011 at 2:34 AM

I’m sorry Herman has been collapsing over the course of three weeks and is now tied with Romney — yes, ROMNEY! — in Iowa. I’m sorry that your disappointment in Herman Cain’s performance as of late is turning into hatred for my opinions on Cain, his candidacy, and his lack of qualification to be the next POTUS.

We warned you folks he was a Romney stalking-horse. :-)

Moreover, I am sure you will be able to enjoy plenty of Herman’s smile and impromptu singing on his Fox News show coming in the fall of next year.

Yes, the Romney/Huckabee ticket will be in full swing and Herb will fill in for Huck every Saturday night with guests, a band, a full studio audience, and, of course, pizza (don’t expect any substantive discussions on policy or any semblance of a panel Q&A — that would be too highbrow for Herb, sadly.)

I’m sure Herb’s book will be offered for a very, very low price by our friends at TownHall which will also include Christine O’Donnell’s bestseller as a “bonus”. :-)

The more they attack Cain he gets stronger….Palin has the same quality.

dec5 on November 1, 2011 at 3:43 AM

Yes, it did help with her movie sales and it did propel her into the presidency, now didn’t it?

Herman Cain isn’t Sarah Palin — Palin actually governed and could discuss the issues. Herman Cain only provides new explanations for previous explanations that didn’t wear well with the public. I’m sure we will get further explanations today by the “Herminator” while the Cain faithful dump on Perry some more.

The timing would suggest that this was instigated by a GOP rival of Cain or by a GOP establishment figure such as Rove, rather than a Democrat. However, I am inclined to think the most likely source was a Democrat who just could not wait to lynch a conservative Black runaway from the Democrat Plantation. They probably knew it would be better to wait, but they just could not help themselves.

The timing would suggest that this was instigated by a GOP rival of Cain or by a GOP establishment figure such as Rove, rather than a Democrat. However, I am inclined to think the most likely source was a Democrat who just could not wait to lynch a conservative Black runaway from the Democrat Plantation. They probably knew it would be better to wait, but they just could not help themselves.

InkyBinkyBarleyBoo on November 1, 2011 at 4:55 AM

It was most likely a GOP inside job that exposed the story and passed it along to POLITICO. My guess is Rove or his associates passed the information along to give Romney a distinctive edge.

How stupid do you have to be to believe a Republican candidate would use Politico to dump oppo research? They are a dyed-in-the-wool pro-Obama site, a bunch of propagandists who were charter members of the Journ-O-List secret plot to “manage” and “massage” the news to conform with the leftist Narrative. Why would a Republican ever trust them not to burn them at a later date?

If it looks like a duck (the typical leftist tactic of vague innuendo portrayed as serious accusations) and quacks like a duck (coming from Politico), why assume it is an eagle?

OT:I just had to turn on morning joe….yesterday they were demonizing cain without any specifics from politico (via newsbusters)and today they talked about corzine and mf global and wouldn’t demonize him because they didn’t have all the facts….

Mfichael Steele is sickening. The Republicans threw him out in the cold, so now he keeps banging on the door of the democrat plantation. He amuses them, but he’s not getting in. Stay on the porch and keep dancing, Michael!

If a republican candidate is behind this, their political career is over. The most important issue here is to find out the originator.

tinkerthinker on November 1, 2011 at 7:04 AM

Oh really? That’s the most important? I’d say if Mr. Cain suddenly “recalls” in the future inviting a woman to his hotel room in the past when more comes out after “not recalling” , then HIS political career is over.

People who think a primary should be cinnamon and cupcakes need to do a little history. If there’s no there there, there’s no there there. He seems to be getting some memory back piece by piece – like your typical politician caught in a mess.

Throughout the campaign, Cain’s wife, Gloria, has stayed out of the spotlight. No one answered the door Monday morning at the family’s house, a handsome brick rancher in an upscale gated community in McDonough, Ga., about 20 miles south of Atlanta.

If I lived in that community I’d be demanding an investigation into how the reporter (staff writer Laura Vozzella in McDonough, Ga.?) got past the gates. Maybe she offered a sexual favor to the gatekeeper./

In separate interviews, two people who were affiliated with the restaurant group at the time said that they knew of the second female employee, and that she had received a payment related to harassment accusations against Mr. Cain during his 1996-99 tenure as the association’s chief executive. The two spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being pulled into the matter publicly.

They said the second woman similarly had complained about what she said had been Mr. Cain’s inappropriate conduct toward her. One of them said she had been taken aback by one interaction in particular while they were traveling, but this person declined to give details. He said he believed the allegation of harassment was not the only issue involved in the woman’s termination package.

The restaurant association declined to comment on what it termed “personnel matters that allegedly took place nearly 15 years ago.” And neither of the women returned phone and e-mail messages left for them at home and at work.

With only scant details from the encounters available so far, the already tricky business of divining how the allegations may effect Mr. Cain’s rising political fortunes was made all the more difficult on Monday.

So, if Politico has a single document on each case but cannot get corroboration from the NRA or the women involved, they do not have two sources of information that are valid. Made worse is that if one of the sources is anonymous, then you STILL need two PUBLIC sources to go ahead with a story. That is basic Ethics in Journalism 101: you do NOT run with sole sourced pieces or those that do not have two public sources.

Every story that I ever read having a document and an anonymous I discount as, no matter what the reason the anonymous wishes to be so, they are not going public. They are attempting to get unsourced information out. As iffy as All The President’s Men was it showed that this is a requirement for high level or even low level reporting. A single document is just that, a single document and it can stand alone for various reasons, but if it is a part of the course of events it cannot stand that way forever as it must have precursors to it and then documents that corroborate it afterwards.

I don’t care if it is Obama, Pelosi, Perry, Gingrich, Cain, Paul (Sr. or Jr.), Putin, Ahmadinnerjacket, Mr. Kim in his Magic Kingdom or the dog catcher: if you are going to put up charges then you require two sources of documentation that corroborate the story and are independent of each other.

Ever try to pin down a story coming from the Middle East that is reported by, say, AFP? I’ve done that on some horrific ‘crime’ and find that every other story on that event was either a reprisal or summary of the original story or a commentary on the original story. There was no other reporting on the incident. A lot of my work went into tracking down articles for terrorism and organized crime, two sets of individuals who perform acts far worse than a hand gesture or an invitation by an executive to his or her room. I give THEM the benefit of the doubt until I can get TWO sources that are INDEPENDENT to back up any claim.

Politico has indicated one document and one anonymous source which is NOT enough to run with a story, but the MFM runs with those without any qualms against a Republican but then demands a higher standard for a Democrat including police reports, dead bodies and even then if it is high profile enough, you get a sob story played up while a young woman drowns.

If you are prepared to show two independent sources confirming the allegations and not depend on any anonymous sources for other than tips, then you are being asked to step out on a branch and have it sawed out from under you. Because that is where Politico is standing. If they published to get more info and are unwilling to name sources, then they can be given the saw and told to start cutting.

The problem is not Herman Cain, per se, but the ease of swallowing such a story with such thin documentation that can’t be put out in public. Two public sources are the standard and then, and only then, can you start to ask about the activity involved and about the validity of the sources, as well. Otherwise you are being led around by people with an agenda and without ethics, and that road ends in no good place for you or the republic.

Your posts — with the bold on *key* sentences — is much like those awful GOP mailers I get begging for money. No one is buying Cain’s crap anymore save for you Cain faithful who will use pretzel logic to defend the indefensible.. . .

See, I can use bold, too! :-)

Punchenko on November 1, 2011 at 2:30 AM

I bold some things as a courtesy for readers who only want to skim my posts. If my posts annoy you, then by all means, don’t read them. Truly is doesn’t bother me if someone doesn’t want to read my posts and doesn’t care what I have to say.

There are a couple posters here who I skip over and usually only read when they have addressed me by name. Feel free not to read my posts. No hard feelings.

And for the record, I think Cain has the best chance of beating Obama, but I would support Newt and Perry, and you will notice I never criticize them. I don’t want to shoot the conservative cause in the foot by destroying any of our conservative options. Good men, all of them.

Methinks Allah is an Extreme Romeny supporter…therefore the number of CAIN sotories are not so much in the interest of HA dabblers as much as it might be Allah trying to induce Cain Fatigue among the posters!!!1

QUESTION: If we publish a story saying we heard a rumor that Barak Obama did something really, really bad…but we’re not going to say what it was or who we heard it from…would Politico run with it…or just call us RASCISTS???